The big highlight for the announced crowd of 17,215 at the Rose Garden on Sunday was easy to pick out. It happened with 2:48 left in the third quarter. And it didn't involve any players from the Sonics or Blazers.

That was when Evan Powell, a 22-year-old Beaverton resident, made a halfcourt shot during a timeout promotion to win a Toyota Tundra truck. Amazingly, it was the second time this season a fan has won a truck in this promotion. On Nov. 10, during the game against New Orleans, Tim Chapman of Portland pulled off the same feat.

We've watched a lot of bad attempts since then, but Powell's low-trajectory shot was perfect. The guy only took two steps, then heaved the ball with a chest shot, and it was nothing but net.

The Blazers, on the other hand, hit a lot of iron and also threw up a few airballs in their 95-77 defeat to the Sonics. Seattle pulled off the win despite Ray Allen suffering through a miserable shooting night, when he was 4 for 19 and finished with 12 points.

But Chris Wilcox (26 points, nine rebounds) and Nick Collison (14 points, 11 rebounds) carried the Sonics to a 47-37 halftime lead, and Rashard Lewis came alive in the fourth quarter, when he scored 11 of his 27 points, to go with 12 rebounds.

"They've got two stars, if one is not hot, the other one can pretty much carry the game for the night," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "That's what Rashard Lewis did."

Lewis has become a particularly persistent thorn in the Blazers' side. He had 29 points against Portland three weeks ago, when the Sonics won by 24 points in Seattle. He and Allen give Seattle a veteran presence the Blazers simply cannot match.

"A veteran team will obviously keep playing because they know they can win down the stretch," Lewis said. "But a young team might give up."

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With the win, the Sonics, who ended a five-game losing streak, pulled even with the Blazers at 26-40, meaning the Blazers now share last place in the Northwest Division and the second-worst record in the Western Conference. The loss was Portland's fourth in a row.

"What you're dealing with is a team finishing the season," McMillan said. "What are you playing for? Tonight is for last place, basically. That was a challenge we tried to get them to focus on."

The Blazers have been stuck on 26 wins for a week when a victory would have matched the win total of the 2004-05 season, the one in which management decided to pull the trigger on the big rebuilding effort after firing coach Maurice Cheeks.

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The Sonics again were effective in frustrating Zach Randolph, who finished with 16 points and shot 7 for 17 from the field. This after he had 11 points and shot 5 for 13 in the loss at Seattle.

"We had success the last time in Seattle doubling Randolph right away whether he was in the low post or mid post," Collison said. "I think if you scope the first quarter and he's not taking shots, he's not as aggressive. That's just human nature as a player, that if they are passive early, they may be passive the whole game."

Said Randolph: "It wasn't good tonight. I couldn't get into the rhythm. It was off."

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Check this site or The Oregonian on Monday for Jason Quick's full game story.